HHS students learn about helping others

HARRISBURG -- Students in Matt Griffith's Current Events classes got a firsthand experience about what it takes to help others when they spent time at a local food pantry.

The students, about 40 in all, helped sort and bag groceries Friday at the Christian Community Compassion Center's food pantry on Jackson Street.

Griffith, a world history teacher at Harrisburg High School, said his students also brought about 300 canned food items from a food drive in conjunction with working at the food pantry.

He said the point of the food drive and spending part of the day working at the food pantry was to help the students understand concepts like economic inequality, as well as the effort involved in volunteerism.

"It's easy for us to talk about our problems as a society, but what we need to do is learn how to solve those problems," Griffith said.

Students said they appreciated the experience and what it taught them.

"Some people don't have a lot in life or don't get a lot of help, so when you can do something to help them, it really means a lot to them," freshman Gabby Adams said.

Others enjoyed interacting with other area residents.

"I liked meeting more people and helping them out," Hannah Ryan said. "There are a lot of people who need extra help."

Mona Crim, the interim director of the food pantry, said she and her staff appreciated the efforts of the students.